Chair’s Welcome

I am delighted as Chair of the Friends to welcome you to our website. Bushy Park and Home Park are two wonderful large green oases in the south west corner of London. Feeling wild, they are natural places with ancient histories, fascinating heritage and superb wildlife. Both are Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) containing rare species. These are places to be enjoyed and conserved. Which is why the Friends exist, campaigning, supporting and protecting the parks, and enhancing visitors’ enjoyment with information, advice and guidance.

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Dog walking warning

Date posted: Sunday 28th May 2017

Dog walkers are being warned to take extra care and consider avoiding Richmond and Bushy Parks over the next few months during the deer birthing season.

More than 200 deer (fawns and calves) are born every year in Bushy and Richmond Parks between May and July. Female deer protect their young by hiding them in dense cover such as bracken or long grass for a few weeks after their birth. The mother will often stand nearby, and if a dog or a human gets too close to their newborn they may act defensively.

Visitors to Bushy and Richmond Parks are being warned to walk their dogs in the parks at their own risk, and follow three simple steps:

keep dogs on leads at all times;
steer clear of remote parts of the park where deer are more likely to have their young; and
stick to busier paths that are generally at the edge of the park.